Why Medical Evacuation For Hunters Is So Important!

AfricaHunting.com recommends that anyone traveling to Africa purchase a medical evacuation membership. I have heard too many stories from hunters who were happy to have had such membership (or wished they did) not to believe that it is an important aspect of any well planned hunting safari. Thankfully most hunts come off without a hitch; however unavoidable unforeseeable circumstances or unfortunate incidents are an inevitability if you travel enough and we would like to see you protected from financial loss or worse.

For a fraction of the cost of a hunting safari, a medical evacuation membershipis a worthwhile investment. This is especially true if you cannot afford to lose what may have taken you years to save or you wish to protect your savings from being depleted by an unfortunate event. You should be aware that regular travel insurance does not cover many activities undertaken by a hunter or adventure traveler, therefore you will need specialty developed exclusively for hunter's active lifestyles.

Trying to decide on medical evacuation coverage can be complicated. For this reason, we have reviewed several medical evacuation companies and their products and have chosen to recommend Global Rescue. They are a well-known, respected and experienced company that offers high quality, comprehensive, affordable medical evacuation memberships designed specifically for traveling hunters, their observers and outdoor adventurers. You can find a lot of information about Global Rescue products and services on their website at www.globalrescue.com.

Emergency Evacuation and Field Rescue Membership
No matter if it's your first or fifth time hunting in Africa, unavoidable accidents do happen. Whether a medical or security emergency, an evacuation from a remote part of Africa could cost well over $100,000. I strongly recommend that anyone traveling to hunt purchase a membership with Global Rescue, the only crisis response company that provides hunters with medical and security evacuation and consultation services anywhere in the world, even the most remote areas. Their deployable teams of paramedics and special operations veterans, backed by on-staff physicians and the specialists at Johns Hopkins Medicine, will get to you wherever you are, by any means necessary, and evacuate you all the way to your home country hospital of choice.
Member benefits include:
- 24hr medical advisory services from critical care paramedics and in-house physicians
- Specialists at Johns Hopkins Medicine available in real-time
- Field Rescue from the point of illness or injury
- Evacuation back to the member's home hospital of choice
- Global network of medical Centers Of Excellence
- Deployable medical and security teams
- Evacuation services provided up to $500,000

Memberships start at $119

If you would like to purchase a membership or have additional questions, Global Rescue can be reached anytime at +1 (617) 459-4200, or via www.globalrescue.com, click here.

A question often asked is what is the difference between Global Rescue and MedJet?

Well, Global Rescue and MedJet are two completely different companies that offer very different levels of service.

While MedJet is an excellent hospital to hospital evacuation service, they require you to get yourself to a hospital and get evaluated by a physician prior to evacuation.

The reason why Global Rescue is more applicable to hunters is that if a member has a condition requiring inpatient hospitalization (a night stay in the hospital), we'll perform field resuce and meet that member at their exact point of illness or injury. From there, we'll evacuate the member all the way back to their home country hospital of choice, up to a cost of $500,000. The reason Global Rescue is able to perform field rescue is that our phones are staffed 24/7 by critical care paramedics and we have a team of on-staff specialist physicians. That way, when a member calls in with an emergency, our medical professionals are able to make a determination right over the phone and get the wheels turning on an evacuation immediately.

All of our cases recieve oversight from the Special Operations Division of Johns Hopkins Medicine (same service used by the Dept. of Homeland Security) and all of our memberships offer 24/7 medical consultation regardless of how severe an issue may be.

A question often asked is what is the difference between Global Rescue and MedJet?

Well, Global Rescue and MedJet are two completely different companies that offer very different levels of service.

While MedJet is an excellent hospital to hospital evacuation service, they require you to get yourself to a hospital and get evaluated by a physician prior to evacuation.

The reason why Global Rescue is more applicable to hunters is that if a member has a condition requiring inpatient hospitalization (a night stay in the hospital), we'll perform field resuce and meet that member at their exact point of illness or injury. From there, we'll evacuate the member all the way back to their home country hospital of choice, up to a cost of $500,000. The reason Global Rescue is able to perform field rescue is that our phones are staffed 24/7 by critical care paramedics and we have a team of on-staff specialist physicians. That way, when a member calls in with an emergency, our medical professionals are able to make a determination right over the phone and get the wheels turning on an evacuation immediately.

All of our cases recieve oversight from the Special Operations Division of Johns Hopkins Medicine (same service used by the Dept. of Homeland Security) and all of our memberships offer 24/7 medical consultation regardless of how severe an issue may be.

Feel free to contact us should you have any questions!

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My understanding is in southern Africa Medjet provides medical evac to the closest hospital and then the rest of the evac as you say.

A Legend in my own mind!"one hundred grains in the right place is worth a thousand in the wrong." Captain Brocklehurst

I used Global Rescue when I travelled to Zimbabwe last year. Thankfully, I didn't have to use it, but it certainly gave me peace of mind. I personally think that it is very foolish to go on a hunt in Africa that will run in the thousands of dollars and not spend the $100-200 it costs for a temporary Global Rescue (or other similar company) membership in the event that something terrible happens.

John McAdamsBig Game Hunting Adventures-South Africa, British Columbia

johnny there are good hospitals in SA but you might be a long way from them , and remember you have to get to them. dont travel overseas without adequate medical insurance of some type. i have annual family cover with global rescue , and annual family travel insurance which also includes medical cover. as BGH says for the sake of a small amount its not worth skipping cover, and its a very very small chance you would use it ,but if you havent got it and something does happen then you are in the sh-t, and wishing you hadnt saved yourself the price of a good night out.........

Hello. I am taking my first safari next spring to SA, do other members thin i would be well advised to use global rescue in in a place like SA where from what I understand has good hospitals.

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You really have to assess this for yourself.
I get Evac insurance and carry extended health insurance.
LOOK AT THE DETAILS IN ANY OFFER.

This last trip I got sick in RSA. Not sick enough to require extraction. Tick Bite Fever.
Having a company to call for potential locations of hospitals I could attend was a resource and I used it,
but the PH was a better local resource. He contacted the local Doc, made sure he was open and could see me. I drove myself and found my own way to his office. Treated released and hunting again in short order.

This was not an incapacitating injury. If it were, the PH would have to be driving me to aid and get support from somewhere.
Getting you home when you are incapacitated is an issue as well.

Another incident this last trip involved an uninsured hunting partner.
No insurance, only local support.
Local contacts called the local hospital.
I drove the 60Km on ugly roads to get there. Got him checked out and beefed up enough to get to a better hospital.
Drove all the next day. Still not well. Checked into another Emergency ward in Joburg.
IV fluids, etc. Tests. NO Tick Bite Fever, or so they thought.
I had to sign a surety and every time they wanted to do a test or procedure money had to come out. Luckily I had lots of Rand and so did the other hunter. You start to feel like and ABM.

We got him well enough that we could escort him home on the plane that night.
If we had to we could drag him into a German Hospital enroute to home.

His spouse grabbed him at the home airport and took him to the hospital.
IV's again. More tests than you can shake a stick at. Physical inspection.
I can not recall the number of bites they counted. LOTS.
Dg: TBF at some point, Spider Bite and some other lovely bacteria and dehydration.

Lucky he had some folks along that had a clue how to care for him and were willing to do so.
We were within driving distance of a hospital on roads at all times during this hunt.

Is insurance worth it?? You decide.

A Legend in my own mind!"one hundred grains in the right place is worth a thousand in the wrong." Captain Brocklehurst

I'm definitely going to sign up before I go, probably with Global Rescue.

Another advantage that no one has talked about is peace of mind for those at home, not just the hunter. I'm 46 and married, and my mother asked me at DSC if I was going to get Global Rescue. If it will make my wife and mother feel better while I'm gone - big bonus.

My name is Kevin and I work for Global Rescue. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have prior to your trip, as there are a number of differences between Global Rescue and other evacuation providers.

I'm definitely going to sign up before I go, probably with Global Rescue.

Another advantage that no one has talked about is peace of mind for those at home, not just the hunter. I'm 46 and married, and my mother asked me at DSC if I was going to get Global Rescue. If it will make my wife and mother feel better while I'm gone - big bonus.

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My oldest son went to Turkey this year during his Christmas Holidays. It was a university sponsored trip. His grandparents were concerned with the trip until I took them to the Global Rescue web page and then they started to be excited. No, i was not concerned because of Global Rescue and he has survived me for 22 years.